Governor Bentley approved the use of emergency funds up to $250,000 to assist in mosquito control efforts, after the Alabama Department of Public Health requested assistance with Zika mitigation funding. Mosquitos with the ability to carry the virus have been discovered in 12 California counties, but as of yet there is no evidence to suggest that the virus has been transmitted from these mosquitos to humans in California.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded $1 million to states and territories to fight Zika virus on Tuesday.
Zika is spread mostly by the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. There is no vaccine or medicine for Zika.
This figure includes the following countries and territories in the Americas, which have newly reported local transmission: Antigua and Barbuda, Turks and Caicos, and in Florida, USA, where 15 non travel-related zika infections are now being investigated according to media reports.
Investigations also continue into a possible case of transmission following close contact with a confirmed case with a very high viral load in Utah, USA.
The media report about a potential baby born at Alta Bates with the Zika virus follows closely on an advisory issued by the City of Berkeley on Monday urging people, especially pregnant women, to take precautions when traveling to avoid the Zika infection.
The mosquitoes have a short travel range, and Florida officials are describing the infections as a “small case cluster” that do not indicate widespread transmission. The CDC has a list of travel notices for these areas here.
Zika is usually mild but can lead to severe brain-related birth defects if women are infected during pregnancy.
The Zika infections in Miami are limited to a 500-square-foot area in the Wynwood neighborhood, according to Frieden. “The cases also highlight that pregnant women and those considering pregnancy face great risk to their fetuses”.
Most Zika infections have occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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Acting medical officer of health Dr Samuel Williams-Rodriguez said the female patient travelled from 4 to 8 July to a country where there is an outbreak of zika.
